Garth Brooks’ First Time on the Radio Happened Two Times at Once

Long before Garth Brooks was the most successful artist in any genre, he was an aspiring singer-songwriter who moved to Nashville from Oklahoma, just hoping to get his music on the radio. But when he finally had a hit, with his debut single, "Much Too Young (to Feel This Damn Old)," from his eponymous freshman album, Brooks got to hear himself on the radio for the first time not once, but twice, on two different stations.

Below, Brooks recalls the special moment, while occurred while he was driving down the road in Music City, in his old, beat-up pickup truck.

At that point, there were only two stations at the time, 98 and 96, WSM and The Big 98. I can’t remember which one it was, but it started: There’s the guitar, fiddle, everything.

I went nuts. I can’t believe it. I’m in an old, red Silverado that doesn’t have air conditioning. The windows are down, so I’m rolling the windows up, trying to roll my windows up. It’s so damn hot, and the speakers are worn.

But when the song’s over, me being the loyal listener I am, I switch over to the other one, and it’s in the solo of "Much Too Young." So the first time I ever got to hear the song [on the radio], I got to hear it one and a half times, back to back. I’ll never forget that the rest of my life.